in order to get Blu-Ray playback licensing

Most likely. And yet when Microsoft did it first by implementing it in Vista, they were (and continue to be) flamed for it.

Yes I know DRM exists in other areas of Vista (eg. protected audio path), but still, now that Apple have gone with this, will they be flamed too as should be fair?

Directly attacking the fans who are providing free advertising of your product is about as stupid as it gets.

I don't quite understand the moral of the story. What's wrong with the novice programmer playing a computer game?

Is the master programmer some dry sort who doesn't agree with computer games or something?

There are a ton of BONE-HEADED design decisions in Vista (try selecting a wireless network with less than 5 or 6 clicks).

Indeed, Vista certainly doesn't have the easier way to select a wireless network.

Having said that, Microsoft is (sometimes) capable of learning from their mistakes. Windows 7 has a modern wireless selector now: http://windows7news.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/win7_m3_ms_17.jpg

Well I have a better chance of getting fully-functional drivers in Windows than Linux. That's my point. Doesn't have to be out-of-the-box either (Linux has the advantage there), just in the end. Doesn't matter whether it SHOULD be the case or now, just what it currently IS.

Seriously, this bullshit about underestimating Linux has got to stop by the Windows crowd. Makes them look uneducated, ignorant and/or astroturfers.

Sorry for having a different opinion.

(Disclaimer - disillusioned former Linux user, having been promised the world and not seeing much as a result. Life is just harder in Linux, too many things to think about.)

No, I don't think that.

Hardware makers make hardware with drivers that work in Windows because that's what "everyone" uses. Why wouldn't they? There's no need to make deals, it's friggin' obvious who you'd target your hardware for. As for Linux, support for it varies from hardware maker to hardware maker. They need to believe they'll see a return on their investment (cost, time, whatever) in developing drivers for Linux. If Linux had more market share in the desktop world, then sure, drivers would be more functional/available.

If your printer is supported, chances are it will work out of the box.

I could say exactly the same thing about Vista. It detects my older Canon printer out of the box, like Ubuntu. But unlike Ubuntu, the drivers are fully featured (eg. they can show ink levels, initiate manual head cleaning, etc).

Seriously, this bullshit about underestimating Windows has got to fucking stop by the Linux crowd. Makes them look uneducated.